The storm has moved on

I’ve been offline for a few days. Thanks to everyone who contacted me here or by email and on Facebook to see how I was weathering the storm.

Last week, severe tropical cyclone Ita threatened to hit the coast to our north as a category 5 storm with wind speeds of 300+kmph. On the Beaufort Wind Scale this is a 12+ – the most powerful hurricane you can get. Just before it hit the coast it was downgraded to a category 4 with wind speeds of around 250kmph. Then it hung around and hung around and very slowly moved south towards us. By the time it hit our region during Friday and Saturday it was a category 1 with wind speeds of about 100kmph.

We had spent most of last week tidying up around the farm as if we were expecting visitors. We didn’t want any flying debris.

All my windows and doors survived in tact. We lost part of a mango tree. We had some flooding.

I told you I always wanted an Olympic size swimming pool.

Where there was once a road there was now water

The water cleared up very quickly after the storm passed as you can see by the photo below that I took this morning.

all clear now

Once the water in the creek had gone down we took the dogs for a swim.

Below is what the creek looked like before.

The dogs loved paddling in that extra bit of water

So it’s all business as usual at the RUC now. I’ll be catching up on your blogs and will (hopefully) finish my book trailer for The Everything Theory. I’ve had some great responses to the other trailers I’ve made and have put on YouTube.

For all those who are south of me, good luck with tropical cyclone Ita. She’s still moving down the coast and causing flooding. Stay safe all.

I was wondering yesterday how you were faring, and I’m very glad to hear that you came through unscathed. We’ve been at the Sunshine Coast all last week and the weather was glorious, but it turned nasty yesterday. Lucky we were leaving anyway. Take care.

Very lucky for you to be out of there because this thing is carrying an incredible amount of water and the flooding is causing a lot of problems. Thanks so much for thinking about me. I didn’t know how the RUC would cope with a cat 5 (yikes!) and was so relieved when it got weaker as it moved towards us 😉

Glad you guys are alright, Dianne. I saw on the news that Australia was going to have a bad one and I thought about you. I’m SO happy you are fine and your home is ok too. We are finally getting a decent rain here in the Midwest or the good old United States. Where I live in Iowa, it has been very dry for a long time, didn’t get much snow this winter either, so the rain here is very welcome for spring planting season just getting started.

Thanks so much, my dear! The east coast of Australia has certainly copped a battering over the past week, but the storm is now moving out to sea where we all hope it just dies a quick death! (lol). I know you’ve had some pretty bad storms in the past few years in Iowa so you’d know exactly what it’s like.

It’s good to hear you’re now getting some rain for the Spring planting season 😀

So relieved to know you and your family are okay, Dianne. Your photos are amazing, particularly the “all clear now” photo.
When Mother Nature rears her ugly head, she can be a force to reckon with. Be safe!

Mother Nature can be wonderful and very cruel – I guess you just have to try and stay safe when she gets furious! At least the season is over now and there’ll be no more threats of storms until Christmas, but we’re told that next season won’t be as bad because of the cooling ocean. The US will be coming into it’s hurricane and tornado season soon and apparently it’s not going to be a bad one either for the same reason. Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief 😀

I was a bit worried about that. Not many places can withstand a cat 5 no matter how strong they are. They’re saying we ‘dodged a bullet’ and I’m so glad. Next season things will be a lot quieter because of the apparent ‘ocean cooling’ (I read that somewhere, can’t remember where now) and the US will be the same with a decrease in the severity of hurricanes. I think a lot of people are breathing a sigh of relief over that 😉

The RUC is fully reinforced and has been ‘engineered’ to withstand the storms – but having said that, I don’t think any structure would survive a cat 5 unscathed. We’re rated to withstand a high cat 3 but I never really want to put that to the test (yikes!)

My thoughts now are to build a brick shelter underneath so if we ever take a big hit, at least we will be safe if the top of the house goes.

Fortunately these are fairly rare events, so I’ve got a few years to get those bricks laid! 😉

Will do. I’d hate to be safe from the wind and end up drowning! The house is on a built-up pad but it’s high enough to put the brick structure up a step or two. We’ll seal it like waterproofing the bathroom and that should keep us out of the water 😉 Thanks for all the good tips 😉

I’m glad you came through all right! I did see it on the radar map on the weather report the other day, but was focusing on our weather. Thanks for the update! I remember years ago–here in Florida–after a hurricane, our dogs running through the water out back and sending up big waves!

I am slack that I didn’t enquire as to how you were 😦 forgive me. I am glad you are all okay apart from the mess. Sorry you lost part of your mango tree 😦 at least the dogs are enjoying it ! Bonus! Apologies darling and as I said I am so happy you are all alright 🙂 xxx

OMG – I can’t even imagine attempting to keep my dog in for 2 days. He’d be eating the walls and mauling the owners. I have a friend in Louisiana who went through Katrina and, even worse for her, Gustav. I’m always grateful when I hear happy endings to horrible storms. Glad you’re safe!

Mother nature can certainly be wild when she wants to Suzan! I really feel for your friend, it’s awful and very scary getting caught up in big storms. We dodged a bullet with this one (thankfully) because it could easily have been so much worse.

The dogs were about to riot after two days locked up – poor things, but they really enjoyed letting it all loose at the creek when it was all over 😀

This is our first year of dealing with lots of rain and I find it fascinating. Of course we aren’t having tropical cyclones! But here there is so much sand that water doesn’t stand very long at all. It’s there and then — whoops — it’s gone.

Glad you are safe, and that the RUC survived it’s trial by water in good shape. Another good reason to be up there on those stilts too!

These stilts come in very handy when the rain is like that, but it also clears very quickly (through the sugar cane fields and into the streams) once the rain subsides. I was a bit worried there for a while, but it all turned out okay in the end (thankfully!) 😉

I can’t imagine 200 KM winds though. We get 80-90 mph winds right on the beach here and they tell me they’ve had 115 mph in a BAD storm but we weren’t here. Have to way to find out what they are like for ourselves.

We are up on a hill — about 150ft above sea level where WE are — and the winds are somewhat diminished by the time they reach us — but they still howl pretty loudly and where we are we are surrounded by a ring of tall trees –whereas at the beach it’s all scrub vegetation. The looks of some of the 120 footers swaying in the wind is enough to give me the shivers — but we’re in a compound ALMOST big enough to avoid being hit (not quite) by falling timber. Argh.

Yes – once it’s the only thing on a channel you know it’s pretty severe! I’m going over to check how they’re doing down south now. It’s probably almost reached the NSW coast. I was very worried there for a while, and so relived when it passed through! 😀

Thanks so much for thinking about me, Jackie! Most places lost power and I got messages on my phone that I would lose that service, but somehow it stayed on. I don’t know how – but I’m very grateful! 😀

So pleased you’re ok and Cyclone Ita petered out a bit – I just haven’t been able to get that Cold Chisel song out of my head since they named it “… How could I not believe what Ita tells me to…”
I laughed at your cleaning up as for visitors. For bad weather we prepare but for vistors we tidy up after 😉 I’ve been keeping an eye on your weather on the TV news over the weekend, and also ours for Easter but according to Elders for us it will be Mostly Sunny.

Storms come and storms go but the RUC lives on to swim another day!! Your country is gorgeous, and i am very glad you safely weathered the wind and rains. Glad the trailers are coming along well – you are my high-tech author friend!! Best of luck with the book!!

Thank you so much! So true that storms come and go (in many different forms!) and hopefully the RUC will be here for many years to come. Making the trailers has been a heap of fun. Thanks so much for visiting, my friend 😀

The dogs weren’t worried at all and took it all in their stride – the only thing that annoyed them was not being able to run around for two days. I thought they’d be scared but they weren’t. They absolutely loved that run through the creek! 😀

So great to know that the RUC survived the storm. It must have got a really good wash though. 🙂 I love your pics. and the story they tell. The ‘all clear now’ looks so beautiful and clean. Thanks for the update. Hugs to you. xx

Thank you so much for your thoughts. I was a bit concerned there for a while. I follow some blogs that I have no idea where the blogger lives so they could get hit by a typhoon and I wouldn’t have a clue 😀

Whoosh! Wonderful pictures. Glad you and the RUC weren’t washed away 🙂 Here we had a series of pretty severe storms and the sea defences took a battering. Nature can be awesome – frightening and dangerous if you’re unprepared or less fortunate.

You’re absolutely right, Roy. This same stormed killed many people in the Solomons before it built up speed and headed for us. Sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw, but mother nature can be highly unpredictable and dangerous. I’m just glad it calmed down a bit before it hit us 😀

It was a particularly nasty storm and devastated the Solomons before reaching here. I think a lot of people were ducking for cover and holding their breath. I’m just glad it lost a bit of it’s puff before it hit us. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts, Dawn 😀

Wow, glad to hear you and the RUC dodged the worst-case scenario! Hurricanes are no laughing matter, and the damage they can do is staggering. Here’s hoping for some quieter, calmer weather for everyone, everywhere!

The price you pay for living in your tropical paradise is a bit scary sometimes, Dianne. But then, all of life can be scary sometimes, can’t it? So glad that all is well and you’re back to ‘normal’.
Happy Easter! 🙂

Glad you came through all of that okay. We’ve had several flood watches this past week because the ground is still frozen yet we’ve been hit hard with rain. Being on the coast only heightens the danger; flooding is the most common natural disaster where I live. Hopefully, you have seen the end of your cyclone season!

This is the end of the cyclone season, Kate! No more now until next year so I’ve got plenty of time to prepare. Having said that, when I lived here in the nineties we had one cyclone in ten years (and that was only a small one) so I’m hoping this will be the case again 😉

Flooding is very scary so I hope all is okay where you are now – stay safe and dry! xxxx

The dogs loved it (particularly after being locked downstairs for two days!) They went nuts in the water and came home totally exhausted, which is what you want with four big dogs!
The road turned into a creek for a while there, but it all cleared up pretty quickly. I’m so glad the cyclone season is over 😉

Wow, somehow I missed the news of the weather. Glad to hear you weathered the storm. I can’t quite imagine winds at that speed, but then again, you likely can’t imagine weather that hits – 40 degrees C either! It is never dull, this weather business. Stay well!!

Dianne I’m so sorry we’re just now getting our well wishes to you! As you know we’ve been in our writing room for the past two months which means little to no t.v.! I’m so grateful to know you’re okay & have endured this beast of a storm! Clearly we need to get our heads out of the sand! lol. Sending blessings of thanks to have our dear friend Diane & her family safe!

Oh my goodness I didnt realize there was such a large storm going on in your area. Clearly the rock I was living under forgot to inform me! I am so sorry. Glad to see you are safe and sound and back to business as usual though!

Don’t worry about it, my dear – I don’t watch the world weather news either and half the world could get blown away and I’d be none the wiser! 😀 All is good now and at least I know the RUC can easily handle bad weather 😉

I was watching the tornadoes in the US on the TV – so incredibly frightening! At least we get a few days warning with a cyclone, I can’t imagine what it would be like being hit by one of these things without warning. Mother Nature is certainly angry – our storm started in the Solomons, travelled across the ocean, hit us and then travelled about 1500k down the East coast and then went across the ocean again and hit New Zealand. It was a massive storm and I hope nothing like it comes again for a long time.

I guess it doesn’t where we live, there are always dangers from weather and earthquakes, etc! We just have to try and keep ourselves safe no matter where we are and being prepared is a major factor in that 😀

I guess if you’re used to preparing it isn’t as scary like you said. It’s strange here because just about every other part of the US has some sort of severe weather at some point of the year – but out here, the most we’d see is a bad snowstorm.
These past 5-10 years though – we’ve seen hurricanes, tornadoes, and a few earthquakes. The most shocking has been the hurricanes because that was completely unheard of here. The others were just rare but happened once in a while. Our planet is definitely changing.
I hope we don’t have to move to the moon.

So pleased you survived Ita Dianne, it would be devastating to be affected, especially after all the work you have put in on good old RUC. But I imagine it has weathered many storms in the past. I’ve just been to an area that had a huge flood in 1888 unlike today they had no warning. Thank goodness for our meteorological system.